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Before the
Federal Communications Commission
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of)
Booth American Company )
d/b/a Salem Cable TV ) CUID Nos. VA0048 (City of Salem)
) VA0247 (Roanoke County)
Small System Filing to Support )
Cable Programming Services Tier Rate )
)
ORDER
Adopted: August 19, 1996 Released: August 28, 1996
By the Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division, Cable Services Bureau:
1. In this Order we consider complaints filed with the Federal Communications
Commission ("Commission") regarding the rate that Booth American Company ("Booth") was
charging for its cable programming services tier ("CPST") in the franchise areas referenced
above. On November 7, 1995, Booth filed with the Commission FCC Form 1230, seeking to
justify its CPST rate through the simplified small system cost of service procedures under the
Commission's Small System Order. This Order addresses only the reasonableness of Booth's rate
for the period after May 14, 1994. We have already issued a separate order addressing the
reasonableness of Booth's rate prior to that date. In this Order we grant Booth's requests for
small system relief under the Small System Order and, based on our review of Booth's FCC Form
1230 filing, deny the pending CPST complaints and find the CPST rate in each of the above-
referenced franchise areas to be not unreasonable.
2. Under the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and
the Commission's rules implementing it, 47 C.F.R. Part 76, Subpart N, the Commission must
review a cable operator's rates for its CPST upon the filing of a valid complaint. The filing of
a valid complaint triggers an obligation on behalf of the cable operator to file a justification of
its CPST rates. Under the Commission's rules, an operator may attempt to justify its rates
through a benchmark showing, a cost of service showing, or a small system cost of service
showing. In any case, the operator has the burden of demonstrating that its CPST rates are not
unreasonable.
3. The Commission's original rate regulations took effect on September 1, 1993. The
Commission subsequently revised its rate regulations effective May 15, 1994. In a further effort
to offer small cable companies administrative relief from rate regulation, the Commission
amended the definition of small cable companies and small systems and introduced a simplified
form of small system rate relief in the Small System Order. Cable systems serving 15,000 or
fewer subscribers, and owned by a company having 400,000 or fewer subscribers, may elect to
use the new small cable system rate mechanism in lieu of other Commission rate processes,
provided the Commission has not reached a final resolution on the rate complaints filed against
the system. Operators attempting to justify their rates through small system relief must file FCC
Form 1230. FCC Form 1230 requires that the Operator Selected Per Subscriber Monthly
Programming Rate Per Channel (FCC Form 1230, Line A11) not exceed the Per Subscriber, Per
Channel Monthly Programming Costs (FCC Form 1230, Line A6). If the maximum rate
established on FCC Form 1230 does not exceed $1.24 per channel, the rate shall be presumed
reasonable.
4. On November 7, 1995, Booth filed FCC Form 1230s seeking to justify its CPST rates
in the above-referenced communities through the simplified small system cost of service
procedures under the Commission's Small System Order. We find that Booth is a company with
fewer than 400,000 total subscribers and that the systems in question serve fewer than 15,000
subscribers, making them eligible for small system relief. Further, Booth's filings show that its
actual rate per channel for regulated cable service (FCC Form 1230, Line A11) in each franchise
area does not exceed its per subscriber, per channel monthly programming costs (FCC Form
1230, Line A6) and the Maximum Permitted Rate (FCC Form 1230, Line A10) in each franchise
area does not exceed $1.24. We, therefore, find the rates in the above-referenced communities
to be not unreasonable.
5. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to section 0.321 of the Commission's rules,
47 C.F.R. 0.321, that Booth's request for small system relief IS GRANTED.
6. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the CPST rate charged by Booth in each of the
above-referenced CUID numbers during the period under review IS JUSTIFIED.
7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the complaints against the CPST rate charged by
Booth during the period under review with respect to the above-referenced CUID numbers ARE
DENIED.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Elizabeth W. Beaty
Chief, Financial Analysis and Compliance Division
Cable Services Bureau